An unexpected find…whether it was set aside for the Elite 8 game, or finals, it’s unclear who stashed their party supplies here. One thing we can say, microfilm storage also works for beer cans. Who knew?
Oh the Things We Find in the Stacks
A Delightful Bookplate
Earlier this week I joined a small group of library staff over at Duke’s Herbarium to look at some books. In 2024 the university announced their decision to close the herbarium and, since then, faculty and staff members have been planning for what will happen to the 825,000+ plant specimens housed there. The collection also houses a few thousand printed books on plant life from across the globe, and some of those books will soon come to live at the libraries.
One very small book sitting on the shelf caught my eye, and looking inside I found a quite unusual bookplate:
Most bookplates are small and rectangular, so it is interesting to find one so large and triangular in shape. In fact this one is so oversized for the book that they left one corner of the triangle unglued, so that it would not interfere with the movement of the inner hinge or front flyleaf.
The small figure on the bookplate holds a folding hand lens or loupe, a magnifier commonly used by naturalists. William C. Steere was an award-winning expert in bryophytes, and he gifted this book to Lewis E. Anderson in 1966. The bryophyte herbarium at Duke University was named for Anderson in 1998 and the bryophyte herbarium at New York Botanical Gardens was posthumously named for Steere in 2000.
Coupled with the bookseller’s ticket on the front board and inscriptions / stamps on the front flyleaf, this delightful bookplate tells a very detailed story of the book’s history.
Quick Pic: Camels for Christmas
We are all looking forward to a little break over the holidays, but wanted to share a book that has captured everyone’s attention in the lab this week: Edward Topsell’s History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents from 1658. Originally published in two volumes in 1607 and 1608 (Beasts and Serpents, respectively), this is the first collected edition. It describes both real and fantastic animals, including delightful woodcut illustrations, like the camels below.
This copy has been digitized by the Internet Archive, so you can see and read about all of the other animals here: https://archive.org/details/historyoffourfoo00tops
Thanks for reading in 2025. Have a safe and happy holiday. We’ll see you in the new year!
Quick Pic: Modesty Flaps, Continued
This week we found another example of modesty flaps added by a reader or previous owner. This time on a paperback copy of The selected poems of Frank O’Hara. They’ve also added a laminate book cover over the bandage to seal it in place.
We do not recommend using bandaids on library materials. You can already see how poorly the adhesive is aging as it migrates from edges and holes in the bandage. Please choose high quality, chemically stable materials and adhesives for your modestly flaps.
Modesty Flaps
Rubenstein Library’s History of Medicine collection holds a sizable collection of anatomical flap books, which are books with illustrations featuring layers of movable paper flaps that can be lifted to reveal the layers of organs and tissues below. You can see several examples from a 2011 library exhibition here. We often get these books in the lab to correct common problems that can occur with the many layers of paper flaps: typically misfolds, tears, or detached flaps. This early 18th century work by Christoph von Hellwig, commonly known as Anatomicum vivum, came to us recently for some of those problems. During examination, something seemed a little off with the plates at the back.
Judging from the bright white wove paper and print type of the additions, it appears that in the recent past someone had glued in some modesty flaps to cover the anatomical figures. Duke acquired this volume in 2016.
The modesty flaps are supposed to look like a draped piece of cloth – but to me they just look like a cabbage leaf. So at first I thought someone was doing their own cheeky version of the “Fig Leaf Campaign“, a movement to censor classical sculpture that was carried out in the 16th century following the Council of Trent. Looking at images of other copies of the same edition, however, I have found some examples with more contemporary looking modesty flaps and some without any kind of covering flap. So now it is unclear to me how it was originally issued. Further research required.
If you are curious about the different layers in these prints, the Marion J. Siegman Archives at Thomas Jefferson University made some really great videos of a 1744 edition of this same work to demonstrate how the flaps operate. You can watch them here.
Quick Pic: Best Apology Note Ever
This book recently came down from Circulation. It was out on interlibrary loan, and came back with a cut front cover. The apology note, in the shape of a cat head with a head of lettuce, is now our favorite thing we have found in a book outside of the famous banana.
We appreciate our colleague’s very apologetic, and very funny note. Our new student assistant just learned how to mend paper tears. This will be one of the first books that she repairs with that new skill set.
What’s In the Lab: Le voyage de l’Isabella
This 20th century French work of science fiction is back in the lab for evaluation for one of our imaging workflows. Published roughly 60 years after Verne’s Voyage au centre de la Terre, Creux’s novel features a ship that can drill its way into the earth – rather than the protagonists climbing down a lava tube. We just love the highly decorated cover.
The custom housing for this item was funded through our Adopt-A-Book program. Other adopted conservation treatments are currently on display in the Mary Duke Biddle room in an exhibit titled Donors Choose: Highlights from the Duke Libraries Adopt-a-Book Program. Please join us on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, from 11am to 12pm, for a gallery talk. Staff from the Conservation Services Department will be available to talk about the items on display and answer questions. We will have bookmarks and buttons for attendees!
Watermarks Tell Tales
This scribal copy of the Haitian Declaration of Independence will soon travel for exhibition at the Museum of the American Revolution. A declaration of independence by the army of black Haitians from French colonial rule made 1804, the original document strongly echoes the rhetoric of the American Revolution three decades earlier. It established the first black republic in the world.
Since the wires from the paper mould leave the paper slightly thinner above them during the paper making process, transmitted light can be used to clearly see the laid and chain lines, as well as any watermarks. I place the manuscript on a light table and was able to clearly see watermarks on the left and right side of the sheet. 
On the left side of the sheet, the words “AL MASSO” are visible. This is referring to the Al Masso paper mill, which was formed in 1782 in the city of Pescia, Italy.
On the right side of the sheet, you can see a crown-topped shield crest, featuring a bird and stone tower. The words “GIORo MAGNANI” are visible beneath it, referring to Giorgio Magnani. Magnani formed the Al Masso mill in partnership with Antonio Arrigoni. The Bernstein Consortium has some photos of the same watermark here that better show some of the details.
Pescia became known in Tuscany for papermaking as early as the thirteenth century. Due to an abundance of running water in the area, the city hosted hundreds of paper mills and by the nineteenth century became an important site of industrialization in the region. The Magnani family has been producing paper since the fifteenth century and continues to do so today.
By closely examining items in the library collection, we can start to piece together more information about their origin and manufacture from seemingly small details.
New tables, less back ache!
We love getting new equipment for our work areas. In the past month, we have upgraded to sit-stand tables for two shared work areas. We are thrilled to present our new “Conservation Station” at Smith Warehouse. This space allows our shelf preparation work to be co-located with acquisitions and cataloging. By moving these workflows to Smith, we anticipate a quicker turnaround from shelf-prep to shelf. This table was a hand-me-down from another department, and we are thrilled to have it.
Over in the conservation lab we have upgraded from an older desk-height table to an Uplift sit-to-stand table. This table is in the “dirty room” where we do all of our solvent and mold removal work. The desk is chair-height and difficult to work on for any length of time.
Our new table has a lot of “bells and whistles” the old table does not. It can adjust from 25″ to 51″ in height, it has locking wheels, and a solid top. We can move this table into the lab when we need added table space, something that was impossible with the old table.
We really like the Uplift brand desk. The best part is the desks come with the choice of free accessories. We chose the clamp-on punching bag. Yes, it does work and yes, it is fun! Thanks to our generous Adopt-a-Book donors, we were able to purchase this table and have it customized to fit our needs.
Both tables improve the ergonomics of our work. They also provide flexible space options for when things get really big.
Preservation Week: A day in the life, Friday
Welcome to Day 5 of Preservation Week 2025! To see other posts in this series, follow these links:
Day 1: Curatorial meetings
Day 2: Presenting our HVAC pilot project
Day 3: Using UV light to analyze materials
Day 4: Discovering details in book bindings
To end preservation week we are going on a field trip to pick up materials and process them into our workflows. Our first stop is the library’s shelving unit where the staff have set aside damaged materials for us.
Our next stop is Circulation on the first floor. Front line workers are often the first to see damaged books.
When we get back to the lab, we scan items into our library tracking system called Alma. When we scan an item in, it changes the location and availability so that everyone knows where the book is in case it is requested by a patron. We scan items when they come in, and when they leave the lab.
Shipping brings us materials from the East Campus Libraries and from Collections Services. We evaluate each item’s needs and sort them into our workflow by type of repair or housing they need.
When work is finished, we often have to order shelf labels from Collections Services. When they arrive, we carefully match the barcode on the label with the barcode on the item.
Once everything is labeled, we sort the finished materials by location and send them out.
A week in the life of Conservation is rarely boring. I hope you enjoyed coming along with us on our Preservation Week journey!